Roses and Thorns
by Roguie
Summary: It's day 413 of Rose Tyler's travels with the Doctor - she's teased him and he's been watching.  Decisions are made, dangers are faced, games are played - the only question left?  Who's the winner when the sun sets on a brilliant alien planet?


A/N: I really don't know what's wrong with my muse - she's really not taking these fictions where I want them to go, but then before I know it they're finished and I'm rather happy with them after all. This makes 3 for the Doctor Who universe - a feat of miracles really as I've not written so much as a word in five years before these last few weeks. I certainly hope this one goes over better than my last, as Crossroads didn't seem to take off with anyone, and my muse is a review trollop. It's like feeding Gremlins after midnight - the more reviews she gets, the more ficlets, fictions and epics she'll pop out. So, fingers crossed!

Disclaimer: I don't own Doctor Who, and the characters are so obviously not mine - I just like to borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. Please don't sue - my house is small, my car is useless and my dogs are pains in the arse but they're all I have!

Roses and Thorns

By: Danae Bowen

She thought whole worlds would come apart the day it happened. All right, perhaps not whole worlds, but at least a violent temporal rift could have opened. She would have settled for a really big thunderstorm. In fact, no worlds shifted, no rifts widened, no storms broke the orange beauty of the sky over her head, nothing in the slightest moved to acknowledge the great turn of events about to occur. It was just a day like any other.

Well, a day like any other of the last four hundred and twelve in Rose Tyler's life.

"Ouch! Oi, I'm not dressed for this! Hold on a tic, Doctor," Her words were mumbled as she battled with the heel of her boot to release her foot from the soft mulch they tread upon. She stumbled backwards as her heel came free suddenly, the expression on her face shock as she stumbled backwards into a thick trunk, catching herself with the side of her arm, upright once again.

"Oh hell, if it's not one thing it's another!"

She sucked her lower lip between her teeth in a gentle hiss as she peered down at her arm, at the trail of red against her pale white skin, her eyes narrowing at the offending thorn protruding from her soft flesh.

"Bloody stupid roses and their bloody stupid thorns! What're we doing here anyway, Doctor?" She winced as she pulled the unbelievably large thorn from her body, dropping it on the ground in distaste. "A bit of warning next time would be useful, y'know? Might've made a different choice in clothes if you'd said anything about corn fields of rose trees. Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment - fields of roses for Rose. Ain't that a bit obvious for you, though?"

She stood surrounded by rose trees six feet in height, each brilliant purple bloom the size of her head, thorns the length of her fingers if not longer. She sighed, tugging at the hem of the short white jean shorts that barely covered a quarter of her thighs. Worse yet, the small white and pink tank top left her soft skin open for brutal attacks by the fields of thorns. Finally, just to add insult to injury - literally - she'd chosen white leather knee high boots to complete the outfit, including their ridiculous spiked heels which would not stay above ground to save her life. On the four hundred and thirteenth day of her travels with the Doctor, Rose shook her head in disbelief. By now you'd think she'd have learned - jeans, a t-shirt, and flats; jeans, a t-shirt and flats.

"Right, then. Next time we go 'round Mum's, I'm taking every pair of flats I own. And you, Doctor, need to be more open about where we're travelling. Y'know, all it would've taken was a quick, "Rose, we're gonna be walking through miles 'n miles of manure and pricks the likes you've never seen. Perhaps you oughta cover up?" 'n we'd be at your grand surprise by now instead of me standing here like an idiot, bleeding all over the... Doctor?"

For the first time since her rant began, Rose looked up, surprised to find the source of her indignation was not nearby.

"Um, Doctor?"

She thought back to before she started speaking, realizing suddenly how muffled her voice had been while she fought to keep her balance in the rose mulch. Had he heard?

_'Of course he heard, ya stupid git, he's the Doctor.'_

Then why hadn't he stopped?

_Awww for fu..._

"DOCTOR!"

Panic flooded her body as she spun in place, up on her toes, trying to see over the now closing in claustrophobic field of pretty flowers.

"DOCTOR!" Her voice rose in pitch as she realized he was long out of her sight. She looked around desperately for something to climb, to get her sight above the bleeding plants. "Oh that's just great, then! Fine place to leave me, Doctor!" She yelled. "Thorns all over the trunks, no way for me to find you in all this!"

Jackie's voice filled her mind, "See there, darlin', I told you he'd go 'n leave you. I told you you weren't safe, there, out travellin' who knows where in God knows what. You could'a been somethin', Rose, could'a found a job, and what about Mickey? Sweet boy 'n you trod all over his heart, then, 'n for what? What's it for now, sweetheart?"

"Oh shuttup, Mum! Last thing I need's being under dressed, lost, alone, AND arguing with my mum who's three hundred years away and is still voicing her ruddy opinion on the failures of my life!"

Rose paused, rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"I'll have ya know, Doctor, I've gone mad now, thank you very much!"

Crying out with frustration, she spun again, glancing back in what she thinks is the direction from which they'd arrived. Somewhere back there the TARDIS sat waiting for she and the Doctor to return. Reason made it's way through Rose's chattering thoughts - if she made her way back to the TARDIS several new possibilities would open. 1. She could change into something far more suitable for this environment. 2. The Doctor would know where to come looking for her. 3. Well, she couldn't think of a three, but she had a long walk back in those frustrating heels, by the time the TARDIS came into view, she'd likely come up with a third possibility.

The possibility that she'd gotten turned around whilst looking for the Doctor never actually occurred to her.

She'd no idea why they'd come to this planet, with it's orange skies and purple rose trees. He'd not said what was here that he'd wanted so badly for her to see. Rather, she'd awoken this morning, taking care with her short shorts and tank top, showing so much more flesh than she'd once considered purely on the off chance the Doctor would have his guard down for a brief second when he saw her and would reward her with a slight intake of breath; a moment where his eyes would flash with hunger and danger and her own heart would stop beating in response. Just a moment though, that's all he ever offered her before he'd clamp down on those feelings, smile at her brightly, and the first words out of his mouth would always be, "Right, then, ready to step out the doors?"

This morning had been different. The moment had lasted longer, the brief hunger she'd craved seeing had turned darker, burned brighter in his timeless eyes. She'd watched in disbelief as he'd licked his lips, not with discomfort but with raw, unadulterated want. The look burned into her, through her, she could feel the heat of his gaze as it lowered from her face down her body. It burned, burned her in a way she'd never thought possible as her skin turned pink, then red, her lungs bursting as she forgot to breathe, her heart aching as it forgot to beat. When the idle thought crossed her mind that it was very possible she could die that moment as he devoured her in his mind, he'd whispered her name.

"Rose."

How simple.

How simply incredible.

How utterly simply incredibly unbelievable.

"Oh."

She didn't remember hitting the floor of the TARDIS. She didn't even remember the last thought to cross her mind before she was on her bum, on the ground, staring up at him with surprise. His lips twitched.

"Don't you dare."

Her warning didn't go unheeded. If nothing else, the Doctor knew better than to push a Tyler woman. He controlled the laughter threatening to break past his resolve and reached a hand out to the flushed girl at his feet.

"Right, then. Shall we?"

Her fingers burned where he touched them, his flesh against hers, and colours flashed wild streaks across her vision as he pulled her to her feet, to his chest, his length against hers...

And he turned away.

The heat was pulled from her like a vacuum, her heart that moments ago had forgotten to beat now pumped in triple time, her breathing came in short gasps as he opened the door to the TARDIS and stepped through.

"Come on, Rose. This planet was made with you in mind. You can't miss this!"

And with that she'd stepped out of the safety of the small wooden box that was so much more and onto this godforsaken planet that offered nothing but fields and fields and fields of roses.

Fields of roses that separated her and the Doctor.

Fields of roses that separated her and the TARDIS.

Fields of roses that were really starting to piss her off!

"DOCTOR!"

As she trudged through the rose mulch, stopping every five steps or so to pull her long heels from the soft ground, Rose shook her head in disbelief. She really couldn't blame the Doctor for her current situation.

"EVEN THOUGH IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT, Y'KNOW!"

She sighed. Whatever he'd wanted her to see in the middle of the rose forest, she was sure it would have been right brilliant. Everything she'd ever seen with him had been brilliant. Spectacular even. For God's sake she'd watched the Earth explode right before her eyes, what other twenty year old girl could say as much? She'd seen brilliant skies, skies every colour of the rainbow. She'd seen amazing creatures - some humanish, most not. She'd seen astounding moments in time - she'd met Queen Victoria! No, she couldn't blame her silly, beautiful Doctor. She could be lying on this world dying and she'd not blame him. How could she when she would quite literally rip apart the fabric of space and time for one night in his arms? Hell, she was pretty sure she'd rip apart space and time for a single kiss. The way the Doctor acted, however, had her fairly convinced she'd have to do as much before he'd even consider lowering his beautiful Time Lord lips down upon hers.

Again she sighed, grimacing as once again her ankle turned and her foot was sucked into the soft mulch growing the great flowers that continued to surround her.

"Huh?"

She turned, frowning. She was sure the TARDIS had been in this direction, but she was also sure now she'd walked twice as long back as she had forward with the Doctor.

"This is absolutely, without a doubt, just perfect."

She sat down dejectedly, unsure whether to continue and risk becoming more lost in the forest of beauty, or to stay put and wait for the Doctor to realize she was gone. She giggled softly, wondering if he'd stopped talking at any point in the last half hour long enough to realize he was travelling alone. By now he'd likely identified the exact genealogy of the rose bushes and how such a popular earth plant had made it here, or from here to earth, as the case may be, without a single suspicion of alien activity having been identified. No, Rose was sure that if she'd not stopped, she would be well educated on how to grow a rose bush to this extent, and how with a dash of this and a dash of that the puny rosebushes of earth could be convinced to once again rise into such beauty. If she was lucky, he would have made some commentary on how Jackie must have seen roses such as these before naming her, because the roses of Earth paled in comparison to the beauty of Rose Tyler.

Wait. No. The Doctor would never say such a thing. She would have imagined him saying it, though, and it would have been brilliant.

Funny, she was tired now. Very tired. As a matter of fact, she could barely keep her eyes open as she climbed to her feet and turned around, watching the purple roses blurring into a sea of motion.

Odd that, she'd slept fairly well the night before. At least she thought she had. And oh! That damned thorn wound was aching again. None of this was at all good, she figured.

Though the urge to lay down was overwhelming, she turned on her heel and trudged forward. The only sound as she pushed through the rows of rose trees were her quiet gasps each time a thorny hand would reach out, taking hold of her sensitive flesh and tearing. A small scratch here, quite the gouge there, but she still moved on. Stumbling. Muttering to herself as she took five steps forward, lurched head first towards a rose trunk, cut her palms wide on thorns as she supported herself and pushed herself off.

Was she moving slower now?

Four steps.

Was her stupid heel stuck again?

Three steps.

What the bloody hell was that buzzing sound in her head?

Two steps.

Why would she be looking at the ground?

One step.

_Aw, fu..._

"There we go, you're all right then?"

She sucked her lip into her mouth, nibbling on it thoughtfully as the haze began to clear from her mind.

"Rose?"

Hmm. Her eyes were decidedly hard to open for some reason, but oh! was she warm, and wasn't it nice?

"Rose?"

She sighed deeply, turning her head, realizing slowly that her nose was being mushed against something hard, and it smelled wonderful!

"Rose?"

She opened her eyes, sight filled with the Doctor's chest. She raised her gaze, meeting his worried soulful stare.

"Hello," he smiled down at her, relief relaxing his tense features.

"Hello," she mumbled back, wondering how she came to be tightly wrapped in the Doctor's embrace, curled up in her own bed on the TARDIS.

Embrace?

Doctor?

Bed?

Huh?

Her body froze, her breath trapped in her chest as her heart skipped one, then two beats before lurching back into full rhythm.

"What'm I doing here?"

"Strange thing, that. Found you laying at the doors of the TARDIS when I came looking for you. What happened anyway? One moment we were chatting quite happily about the origination of Metradula Acicularis, and how the Metradulians brought snippings to earth as a peace offering hundreds of years in your past which is how the rose became so abundant on the earth. Bet you didn't realize it wasn't a native plant, did you now?"

Rose half rolled her eyes and half giggled as she lay her head back on the Doctor's chest, listening to him ramble on until he stopped mid sentence.

"Right, but then I turned to look at you, was gonna say something nice, y'know, and you weren't there. Where'd you wander off to anyway? Don't I always say to stay nearby?"

Her eyes rolled again. "Oh, yea, I wandered off all right. And just what do you think the words 'hold on a tic' mean, Doctor? I had a heel in the mud and a thorn in the arm, so I stopped a second to fix myself, looked up and you were gone. I hardly call that wandering off, unless we're discussing your inability to listen to the human for more than five seconds at a time."

His eyes flashed hurt as he looked down at her. "I'd say that's rather unfair, Rose." He paused. "I'd listen to you talk for hours."

His soft warm words sent shivers down her spine, her skin flushed, and she buried her face into his chest. "Yea, well, I bet you five quid your eyes'll glaze over long before I quit talking if I put my mind to it."

"Oh, I don't doubt your ability to pratter on, Rose Tyler, nor do I doubt the power behind you putting your mind to something - however, ten quid says you will never bore me. No matter how hard you try."

His hand lowered to the soft skin on her arm, a single finger tracing the erratic patterns of scratches that ran from her wrist to her shoulder. He sighed deeply as he stroked her, shifting so that she lay tighter against his chest, resting his head against the wall, his shoulders against her headboard.

Fire erupted beneath Rose's skin, her breath simply stopped, her heart simply arrested and her eyes rolled back as the sensation of his long fingers stroking her wounds struck her brain senseless. A toe curling shiver travelled from eyebrows to ankles as she lay there, terrified the moment would pass too quickly for her shocked mind to react.

"Regardless of how you got there, that's where I found you. TARDIS front doors. Face down in mulch, no less. Brought you inside, you were gone out for hours, not responding to anything."

Rose sighed softly, "And you ended up in my bed exactly how?"

He shrugged, continuing his gentle exploration of her back. "Simple really. I was disinfecting your wounds, you still unresponsive, but you called my name in your sleep. Thought, what harm would it do to be with you when you woke, hmm? Friendly face, 'n all that."

"Friendly chest, 's'more like." Rose muttered before thinking, immediately sucking her lower lip between her teeth upon a hiss of surprised breath.

He chuckled softly, "I'd be willing to wager another ten quid that you didn't mind, either."

Rose grinned and stretched, moving away from the Doctor's body with regret. "I dunno, you bring me to a planet, ditch me in a forest of roses with thorns that put me out, 'n take advantage while I'm unconscious. What's there to mind, then?"

"Ah, it was the thorns then! Thought as much, but couldn't be sure. They have different reactions for each different species - the Raga find these trees a delightful addition to their marriage ceremonies, s'posed to be good luck in procreation, they are. The Kiwanian use them to bring on visions, much like some native rituals on your own Earth. Between you 'n me, their young aren't so much interested in the visions as they are the intoxicating powers these days, but to each his own. Surprised that they're a sedative for humans, but good to know for the future, anyway."

Rose's grin spread. "Oi, that's just diggin' you in deeper, Doctor. Now, not only did you ditch me in the thorns, but instead of makin' me sleep they could'a got me stoned, or been an aphrodisiac? Startin' to wonder just what you had in mind for tonight, I am!"

The Doctor back pedaled, jumping off the bed, running his hands through his hair nervously. "Rose, you honestly don't think... Me? Really? I would never do anything to intentionally..." Rose's grin turned to laughter as she sucked on her lower lip and watched him sputter. He nodded slowly. "Right. Tease the Time Lord who's only crime is trying to show you a good time. Very cute, that."

She had a good laugh as she climbed from the bed before adopting a serious expression, cocking her head to the side. "Just why'd you bring me here anyway, Doctor? What'd you want to show me 'fore all this?"

He weighed his answer for a moment, before deciding on telling the girl the God's honest truth. "The sunsets on this planet are absolutely brilliant. Particularly if you're sitting in the center of this very forest. The orange sky lights up like it's on fire, turning a deep shade of red, then the same purple as the blooms. All the trees flowers turn upwards, like a photosynthesis of sorts, and they all spread their pollen at the moment the sky matches their colour. The sun sets immediately, and for just under a minute the entire world goes absolutely black. That's when the moon appears in the sky, not gradually but as if it's always been there but hidden, and a soft pale light chases back the dark. The sudden rise of the moon brings a heavy wind that pulls the pollen upwards, in wave after wave of shimmering silver that spread out across the night sky, like the tide."

Rose's jaw dropped slowly as the Doctor lulled her in with his descriptive words, painting such a beautiful picture of wonder. "Oh, it does sound fantastic, Doctor!"

He nodded. "It only happens once every three months. The rest of the time this world sees no end to the sunlight. For the next, oh, two weeks about, the trees will live in the dark, their pollen being pulled to all the far reaches of the land and beyond, seeding entirely new forests of these great rose trees. I s'pose you can still see a bit of the pollen in the sky now, but the best part's passed I'm afraid."

Her face dropped slightly in disappointment, but she masked it with a shrug and a bright grin. "S'okay! Great and wondrous Time Lord, you! We'll just stop in for the next pollination, 'n you can show me then."

He cocked his head to the side, taking a moment longer to consider his response then she would have expected. "Ah, but that wasn't all I had planned for the evening." He wavered between spinning his plans with words, but she was so close that he couldn't help himself. Images would be that much more potent. Decision made, he reached out to her, pressing his fingers to her temple in a gentle touch.

Their minds connected instantly, so much so that even the Doctor was surprised at how quickly she opened to him. He immediately pushed his way past the emotions that sat at the front of her mind, past the memories that were most fresh in her thoughts. When there was silence inside her, anticipation the only emotion registering, he thrust his own dreams upon her before jumping backwards and watching her physical response.

"Oh," her lips formed a perfect expression of surprise and wonder as the Doctor's thoughts became her own and suddenly she found herself standing in that field, exactly as he had described. Rose trees grew in droves around them, but the clearing he'd brought them to was at least fifty feet round, with a perfect view of the battling celestial bodies in the sky. When the sun disappeared from view, the Doctor moved towards her, whispering gentle words into her ear, catching her as her knees gave and she sagged against him weakly. A wicked grin crossed her Doctor's face as the moon appeared over their heads, it's faint light illuminating their pale features. Whatever he saw in her eyes at that moment gave him the courage of Gods, and he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his own. She heard her own squeak of surprise in the single moment before her body reacted, pressing itself into the Doctor, deepening the kiss with the intense confidence of pure love.

The image began to shift, drawing back, leaving Rose the fading vision of their bodies entwined, standing under the glow of a rare moon with wind mussing their hair, swirls of shining silver wrapping around them, unnoticed in the otherwise dark night.

When she came back to herself, she swallowed desperately, breathing heavily as she fought reason and brought her eyes up to meet the Doctor's intense gaze. "Wha.." her voice cracked. She swallowed again, clearing her throat. "What was all that?"

He grinned at her, half sheepishly, half expectantly. "You wanted to know why I brought you here, didn't you?"

"For a snog in the sunset?" She cocked her head to the side, her smile bright but confused.

"At it's barest form, yes." He shrugged, "I thought that perhaps you'd appreciate a, ahem," he cleared his throat, suddenly uneasy, "A little wooing?"

"Wooing?"

"Yes, wooing!" He ran his hand through his hair again, eyes darting around the room, looking for an escape, or at the very least a place to pace. "Is there something wrong with that, then?"

"No," she started to laugh in complete disbelief. "No. Absolutely not, no, but Doctor, why… why here… why now?"

"I've come to a conclusion, about you 'n me. We're brilliant together." He grinned again, a little more relaxed now.

"Yeah, yeah we are!" Rose was stunned, she couldn't believe her own ears. A horrible whisper in the back of her mind tortured her with the thought this could all be a vision brought on by the thorns, and her heart skipped a momentary beat. Surreptitiously, she brought her left fingers to her right arm and pinched down on the skin with fever. When pain shot up to her shoulder causing her to blink and gasp, her face broke into her thousand watt 'the world is anything we want of it' grin and she stepped forward, reaching a hand out to the man in front of her.

He glanced down at her welcoming hand, knowing all he had to do was take it and in moment he'd be in Rose Tyler's arms. He'd seen as much in her mind, he'd only ever had to say and she would have been there for him in a heartbeat: body, mind and soul. He'd seen something else in her mind as well, though, and he couldn't resist just the tiniest bit of playful punishment. Rather than move towards her he stepped around her, his eyes sparkling as he looked down into her confused gaze. "Ah, but then you disappeared, fell unconscious, and we missed it all. Shame, really. A different choice in clothing 'n we'd be just coming back from that sunset now."

_He wouldn't. He absolutely wouldn't._

"You... you didn't say nothing about thorns 'n forests!" Rose managed to squeak out, a pink flush staining her pale cheeks.

"And you didn't ask, now did you?" His tone turned teasing, light, humour radiating off him in waves as he reached the door to the hallway. "Wonder what went through your mind as you picked that ensemble to wear on an alien planet you knew nothing about." A giggle escaped his lips as he looked down at her.

"But..."

"So, another moment has passed us by. Should be used to that by now, us, hmm?" He turned on his heel, moving down the corridor quickly before she had a chance to come after him. He did, however, raise his voice to ensure she'd hear him before he disappeared into his own room. "That's not to say another moment won't come along, Rose Tyler. Guess we'll just have to keep an eye out, then, won't we?"

"You're bloody joking, right?" She yelled down the corridor, disbelief ringing madly through her tone.

She was greeted by the Doctor's warm chuckle. He popped his head back out of his room, flashing her a wink and a grin. "Of course not. Absolutely serious Time Lord here. All of space and time at my finger tips." He lifted his eyebrow at her. "Best be on your best behaviour, Rose. Wouldn't want the next one to fly by us too, hmm?"

His door shut with a firm click, leaving her standing in the corridor staring the empty space the Doctor had just occupied, her jaw agape with shock. It didn't take long, however, for her dark eyes to start sparkling and a wicked grin to cross her face.

Every Rose has its thorns.

~~~~Fin


End file.
